वरुणस्यात्मजो वीरः स तु राजा श्रुतायुधः ॥
पर्णाशा जननी यस्य शीततोया महानदी ॥
तस्य माताब्रवीद् वाक्यं वरुणं पुत्रकारणात् ॥
अवध्यो ऽयं भवेल्लोके शत्रूणां तनयो मम ॥
वरुणस् त्व् अब्रवीत् प्रीतो ददाम्य् अस्मै वरं हितम् ॥
दिव्यम् अस्त्रं सुतस् ते ऽयं यनावध्यो भविष्यति ॥
varuṇasyātmajo vīraḥ sa tu rājā śrutāyudhaḥ ||
parṇāśā jananī yasya śītatoyā mahānadī ||
tasya mātābravīd vākyaṃ varuṇaṃ putrakāraṇāt ||
avadhyo 'yaṃ bhavelloke śatrūṇāṃ tanayo mama ||
varuṇas tv abravīt prīto dadāmy asmai varaṃ hitam ||
divyam astraṃ sutas te 'yaṃ yanāvadhyo bhaviṣyati ||
That king Shrutayudha was the son of Varuna, whose mother was Parnasha, the great river of cold waters. His mother spoke a word to Varuna for her son's sake: "Let this son of mine be unslayable in the world by his enemies." And Varuna, pleased, said: "I grant him a beneficial boon -- this son of yours shall have a divine weapon, by which he shall be unslayable."
59d87301184b · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
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Here is the backstory of the fateful gift: the mother-river Parnasha begs Varuna to make her son "avadhyaḥ", unslayable. A mother's love seeks the impossible -- immortality for her child. It is telling that Varuna grants not immortality itself but a weapon, and so tempers the request. The verse teaches that love, wishing the impossible for one dear to it -- invulnerability, deathlessness -- can bring on disaster: a boon sought beyond the measure allotted to mortal life is perilous; and care that knows no bound set by nature prepares not deliverance but a hidden ruin.